I recently joined my new neighbor, Nick, on The Occult Rejects podcast for a wide-ranging discussion about Elemental Witchcraft, Hermetic symbolism, and the deeper cultural currents shaping modern magickal practices. Nick approaches the occult from a Golden Dawn perspective, which made this a particularly rich conversation — one where witchcraft and ceremonial magic could meet as complementary languages rather than opposing camps.
Watch the full episode here:
During the interview, we explore the elements as formative powers of consciousness. In my book, Spirit, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water represent distinct modes of perception and action through which the witch learns to refine their will, stabilize their body, clarify their mind, and cultivate healthy relationships. This is the foundation of what I call the Pentacle Path: a system designed to bring the microcosm of the self into conscious alignment with the macrocosm of the world.
Because Nick’s background is rooted in ceremonial magic, we were also able to examine how elemental work functions as the groundwork for more advanced operations. Planetary and devotional practices, in my view, cannot truly stabilize unless the elemental psyche itself is whole, healthy and balanced. When imbalance exists at that level, magick tends to magnify distortion rather than resolve it. In this sense, elemental training is more than just preparatory — it is ethical, psychological, and relational discipline that serves the future, as much as it is a ritual practice drawn from the past.
We also spoke candidly about the eclectic, Ceremonial magick from OTO, influences brought to Wicca by Gerald Gardner. I blogged about that previously: Foundations of Modern Witchcraft: Hermeticism Within Wicca and What I learned from Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente
Why did I write Elemental Witchcraft?
A central question in our conversation was why my work on Elemental Witchcraft emerged when it did. For much of the past two centuries, Western occultism has emphasized analysis, hierarchy, and the pursuit of individual power — the alchemical work of solve, breaking reality into increasingly precise symbolic parts. That phase of development was important, but it is no longer sufficient on its own. As we move into what many identify as a more Aquarian pattern of consciousness, magic must also learn to operate through a Goddess-balanced cooperation, synthesis, and shared coherence — the work of coagula.
From that perspective, my first book was about more than philosophy and technique; it was about cultivating an evolved worldview. It is an attempt to articulate a form of magick rooted in belonging, not in domination and division. Witchcraft, as I practice and teach it, is a relational art: one that recognizes the witch as part of an interdependent web of forces rather than just an independent dominator.
What I value most about this conversation is its willingness to treat modern occultism as an evolving synthesis. We speak openly about the eclectic foundations of contemporary practice — ceremonial magic, Tarot, astrology, Qabala, devotional polytheism, and folk magic — and how these streams can be woven into a coherent living tradition rather than a fragmented collection of techniques.
My hope with Elemental Witchcraft has always been that magick does not remain confined to the circle or the temple. Alchemy, in this sense, becomes a way of shaping character, relationship, and daily modern life. The Work continues wherever we are asked to live consciously within the world we are helping to enchant.
If you are interested in how elemental magic can function as a Hermetic system of transformation — or how witchcraft and ceremonial magic can speak a shared symbolic language — I invite you to watch the full interview above.
What do you think?
I teach a full course on Elemental Witchcraft on-line at HeronMichelle.com
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